System and method for providing commercial functionality from a product data sheet

ABSTRACT

An electronic commerce system configured to implement a product ordering method for receiving a product search inquiry from an input device, displaying a plurality of products in a product listing available from purchase based on the product search inquiry on an output device, receiving a selection of a product, and displaying a first product information page including at least a product name, a product price, general product information, a first product ordering link for accessing a product ordering interface and a product information detail link. The system further includes a secondary product information display system configured to display a product datasheet including the product name, the general product information, product technical information and a commercial function display including at least one of a second product ordering link for accessing the product ordering interface and an inventory reporting display.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/333,605, titled “System And Method For Providing CommercialFunctionality From A Product Data Sheet,” filed 28 May 2021, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/173,721 titled,“System And Method For Providing Commercial Functionality From A ProductData Sheet” filed 11 Feb. 2021, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 11,049,171,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/789,016,titled “System And Method For Providing Commercial Functionality From AProduct Data Sheet” filed 20 Oct. 2017, now issued as U.S. Pat. No.10,991,031, which claims the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/840,584, titled “System And Method For Providing CommercialFunctionality From A Product Data Sheet,” filed 15 Mar. 2013, now issuedas U.S. Pat. No. 9,799,066. The entire content of each afore-mentionedpatent filing is hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to systems and methods for implementing acommercial function, such as product inventory reporting and productordering. Specifically, the present invention relates to a system andmethod for providing commercial functionality including inventoryreporting and/or ordering functionality on a technical productdatasheet.

BACKGROUND

Consumers and businesses are increasingly using electronic commercesystems to obtain goods and services. Electronic commerce systems areparticularly useful for obtaining goods that are not typically availablein a local marketplace. For example, electronic commerce systems areincreasingly being used as the preferred shopping venue to obtainproducts used in highly technical applications, such as electrical andelectronic components.

Electronic commerce systems are useful in sales of highly technicalcomponents because consumers of these components tend to begeographically diverse. Further, consumers of the components tend tohave nonuniform demand for any particular component. The combination ofthese two aspects of technical component sales requires that retailersof these components provide a large selection of diverse components toan extensive customer base to compensate for the nonuniform demand.These demands are typically satisfied using electronic commerce systems.

In order to meet the needs of this diverse customer base, electroniccommerce systems typically provide multiple levels of information thatcan be accessed by a consumer for each product offered for sale. Forexample, an electronic commerce system may provide a generic componentsearch engine allowing a consumer to search for a particular electroniccomponent by, for example, manufacturer name, price point, part number,component name, etc. The generic component search engine is configuredto identify one or more components, typically a listing of multiplecomponents, satisfying the search criteria entered by the consumer.

However, for sales of highly technical components, the informationtypically displayed by a generic component search engine, or even acomponent specific display page, is insufficient for the specializedconsumers of these types of components. Accordingly, electronic commercesystems typically provide a link in the search result listings and/orthe component specific display page that initiates the display of aproduct datasheet describing the component in further detail.

A datasheet or spec sheet is a document providing detail informationregarding the performance and other technical characteristics of aproduct, machine, component, material, subsystem, or software,hereinafter described as a component for simplicity, in sufficientdetail to be used by a consumer to determine the suitability of the itemfor satisfying the consumer's needs. Datasheets are an important part ofhow engineers evaluate and buy products. Typically, a datasheet iscreated by the component manufacturer and thereafter provided by themanufacturer, representatives, distributers, etc.

A datasheet typically begins with an introductory page describing aremainder of the document. The remainder of the document typicallyincludes listings of specific characteristics, information on theconnectivity of the device, source code, engineering tolerances, inputsand outputs, timing diagrams, physical specifications, etc. As can beappreciated, the datasheet is generally an extensive, detailed documentand is thus unsuitable for display in the listing of results from thesearch engine or even on a component specific product ordering page.

Although providing data sheets for highly technical components has beenrecognized as necessary for implementing an electronic-commerce site,integration of the data sheets with electronic commerce systems has beenlimited. Data sheets are typically provided as static documents, such asPDF documents, accessible by a link from the search result listingand/or component specific display page. Accordingly, a consumer viewing,for example on a distributers web site, a component specific displaypage and needing additional information is required to click on the linkto navigate to a separate page and/or open a separate window, forexample at a manufacturer's web site, displaying the datasheet, reviewthe information and then navigate back to the component specific displaypage if the component proves satisfactory after reviewing the datasheet.

Thus, what is needed is a system and method for providing commercialfunctionality such as inventory reporting or purchasing functionality ina datasheet display for a particular component accessed through acomponent specific purchasing page. What is further desirable is such asystem and method further configured to display inventory informationfor a plurality of independent inventory systems.

SUMMARY

The present invention provides a system and method for providing productdata sheets or spec sheets, accessible through a traditional electroniccommerce system, configured to include commercial functionality, such asinventory reporting and/or purchasing functionality. Accordingly, asystem and method in accordance with the present invention allowsconsumers to perform these functions without backtracking to a websitelanding page, where such inventory reporting and/or purchasingfunctionality has traditionally been provided.

According to one exemplary embodiment, the system of the presentinvention includes a computer-implemented electronic commerce systemincluding a primary product information display system including acomputer processor, memory, an input device and an output device andconfigured to implement an inventory checking method and/or a productordering method. The product ordering method includes receiving aproduct search inquiry from the input device, displaying a plurality ofproducts in a product listing available for purchase based on theproduct search inquiry on the output device, receiving a selection of aproduct from the product listing, and displaying a first productinformation page including at least a product name, a product price,general product information, a first product ordering link for accessinga product ordering interface and a product information detail link. Thesystem further includes a secondary product information display systemconfigured to display additional information based on a selection of theproduct information detail link, including displaying a productdatasheet including the product name, the general product information,product technical information and a commercial function displayincluding a second product ordering link for accessing the productordering interface. The inventory checking method includes receiving aproduct search inquiry from the input device, displaying a plurality ofproducts in a product listing available for purchase based on theproduct search inquiry on the output device, receiving a selection of aproduct from the product listing, and displaying a first productinformation page including at least a product name, a product price,general product information, a first inventory checking link foraccessing a product inventory checking interface and a productinformation detail link. The system further includes a secondary productinformation display system configured to display additional informationbased on a selection of the product information detail link, includingdisplaying a product datasheet including the product name, the generalproduct information, product technical information and a commercialfunction display including at least one of a second product inventorychecking link for accessing the product inventory checking interface andan inventory reporting display.

According to another exemplary embodiment, a computer-implemented methodfor providing a modified product datasheet in an electronic commercesystem includes receiving a product search inquiry at an electroniccommerce computing system, providing a plurality of products in aproduct listing available from purchase based on the product searchinquiry, receiving a selection of a product from the product listing,displaying a first product information page including at least a productname, a product price, general product information, a first productordering link for accessing a product ordering interface and a modifiedproduct datasheet link and receiving a selection of the modified productdatasheet link. The method further includes displaying a modifiedproduct datasheet including the product name, the general productinformation, product technical information and a commercial functiondisplay including at least one of a second product ordering link foraccessing the product ordering interface and an inventory reportingdisplay.

According to another exemplary embodiment, a computer-implemented methodfor generating a modified product datasheet includes receiving a productdatasheet in an electronic format, generating a product ordering key forinsertion in the product datasheet, generating a modified productdatasheet including the product ordering key, and generating a link tothe modified product datasheet for utilization in a product ordering orinventory checking interface.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent tothose skilled in the art from the following detailed description andaccompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that thedetailed description and specific examples, while indicating thepreferred embodiments of the present invention, are given by way ofillustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications maybe made within the scope of the present invention without departing fromthe spirit thereof, and the invention includes all such modifications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings in which like reference numerals represent likeparts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic commerceenvironment including an electronic commerce product ordering system,according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the electronic commerce productordering system of FIG. 1 in further detail, according to an exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 3A is a product ordering interface including a link to the modifiedproduct datasheet of FIGS. 4A-4B, according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 3B is a product catalog including a link to the modified productdatasheet of FIGS. 4A-4B, according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIGS. 4A-4B are, respectively, first and second pages of a modifiedproduct datasheet including ordering and inventory reportingfunctionality, according to an exemplary embodiment; and

FIGS. 5A-5D are computer implemented ordering and inventory reportingdisplays implementing functionality accessible through the modifiedproduct datasheet of FIGS. 4A-4B.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for receiving andautomatically modifying a product datasheet to include product orderingand/or inventory reporting functionality, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

Before explaining embodiments of the invention in detail, it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited in its application to thedetails of construction and the arrangement of the components set forthin the following description and illustrated in the drawings. Theinvention is capable of other embodiments or being practiced or carriedout in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseologyand terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description andshould not be regarded as limiting.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to FIG. 1 , an electronic commerce environment 100 forproviding product datasheet based commercial functionality, such asinventory information reporting and ordering functionality, is shownaccording to an exemplary embodiment. System 100 includes an electroniccommerce computing system 110 configured to receive product informationfrom one or more manufacturer computer systems 120 and display theproduct information to one or more customer computers 130 in anelectronic environment. Communication between systems 110-130 may beprovided through a communication network 140, such as the Internet.Although system 100 is shown and described as including particularsystems and devices in a particular configuration, it should beunderstood that system 100 may alternatively include more, less, and/ora different combination of devices and systems configured to implementthe functionality described herein.

Electronic commerce system 110 is configured to include a productinformation display and ordering system 112 configured to display basicproduct information and allow product ordering as is known in the art.However, electronic commerce system 110 is configured to further providemodified product datasheets for the product featured in the display ofproduct information display and ordering system 112. Accordingly,electronic commerce system 110 further includes a product datasheetinventory information and ordering functionality system 114 configuredto display a modified product datasheet including additionalfunctionality as described in further detail below with reference toFIGS. 2-4 . The modified product datasheet may be instantaneouslygenerated and/or may be provided from a product datasheet repository 116based on selection of a product datasheet link in the productinformation display and ordering system 112.

Electronic commerce computer system 110 is presented as a block diagramintended to be representative of the wide range of large and smallcomputer systems that may be used in computer networks of all types. Forexample, computer system 110 may be a desktop computing system, acomputer server, a laptop computing system, a handheld computing device,a smart phone, or any other web-enabled device configurable to allow auser to implement the electronic commerce functions described below.Electronic commerce system 110 may be implemented by a manufacturer, arepresentative, a distributer, a third party facilitating distribution,etc. Although only a single computing system 110 is shown in FIG. 1 , itshould be understood that the method and system described herein may beimplemented using one or more different systems and/or devices.

Electronic commerce computer system 110 is utilized to manage andfacilitate the plurality of activities associated with providing a webbased sales environment or virtual store. Exemplary activities include,but are not limited to, buying and selling electronic components andproviding information about the same to allow consumers to make informedbuying decisions such as available inventory information, samplerequests, white papers, notes, etc. The product information that ispresented to the consumer is provided in at least two forms on system110. For a first product information type, basic product identificationinformation is provided such as a manufacturer name, a price, a partnumber, a component name, etc. For a second product information type,detailed product information is provided in a datasheet accessiblethrough a link provided with the first product information type, as willbe described in further detail herein with reference to FIGS. 2-4 .

Communication network 140 is intended to be representative of thecomplete spectrum of computer network types including Internet andinternet-like networks. Communication network 140 is utilized to allowcommunication between system 110 and any number of computer systems, ofwhich computer systems 120-130 are representative.

Manufacturer computer system 120 is any type of computing device,similar to computing system 110, implemented by a manufacturer sellingproducts through electronic commerce system 100. Although only a singlemanufacturer computer system 120 is shown in FIG. 1 , it should beunderstood that there are likely to be a large number of manufacturercomputer systems providing components that are sold through electroniccommerce system 110. Manufacturer computer systems 120 are configured totransmit both the first product information type including informationdisplayed on a landing page and a product or component datasheet, whichis typically several pages in length and provided in a PDF format, foreach product or component that they wish to sell on electronic commercesystem 110. Product data sheets supplied by manufacturer computersystems 120 may be received by electronic commerce system 110 and storedwithin a product datasheet repository 116.

Consumer computer system 130 is similarly any type of computing systemas described above with reference to computing systems 110 and 120, usedby consumers to access information and conduct transactions withelectronic commerce computing system 110 over network 140. Accessinginformation typically includes searching for products and, uponidentifying a desired product, accessing the landing page displaying thefirst product information type and a link to a product datasheet forthat product. For highly technical users, accessing information furtherincludes accessing the product datasheet through the displayed linkprior to completing a transaction for the product.

In operation, manufacturers, represented in FIG. 1 by manufacturercomputers 120, contact electronic commerce system 110 in order to listtheir manufactured products or components for sale through theelectronic commerce system 110. In order to facilitate such sales,manufacturers provide information to electronic commerce system 110regarding the products to be offered for sale. The type of informationthat is provided may be highly variable depending on the nature of theproduct, manufacturer desires, requirements from electronic commercesystem 110, etc.

According to one exemplary embodiment, the provided information includesa manufacturer specific webpage allowing consumers to identify andobtain basic information regarding the product and a technical datasheetdescribing all available information regarding the product that themanufacturer wishes to communicate to the consumer to facilitate theconsumer's purchase and use of their product. The basic information maybe provided, for example, as a webpage written in an HTML scriptincluding text, images, graphics, a manufacturer's logo, etc. A secondtype of information, the product datasheet, may be provided based on alink displayed on the webpage as a several page document, typically inPDF format, including text, figures, graphics, tables, charts, codelistings, etc. According to an alternative embodiment, the basicinformation may be generated by electronic commerce system 110 based ona received product datasheet, and be configured to include a subset ofinformation available on the product datasheet.

Based on receipt of the information from manufacturer's computer 120,electronic commerce system 110 implements a product data sheetmodification function to allow system 110 to display the productdatasheet including product inventory reporting and/or orderingfunctionality, as described in detail below with reference to FIG. 4 .Electronic commerce system 110 may be further configured to modify thefirst type of information, such as the webpage, to include a link to themodified product datasheet including product inventory reporting and/orordering functionality. Thereafter, the product identified in thereceived information may be offered for sale through the electroniccommerce system 110 such that transactions for the product may beperformed using either of product information display in ordering system112 and product datasheet display in ordering system 114.

The product inventory and availability information may be obtained inany satisfactory manner. For example, and without limitation, thedatasheet inventory search may be conducted through a manufacturer'sinventory database in which the manufacturer is the supplier, amanufacturer-supplied database of authorized distributors, ordistributor or retail databases of available products.

Referring now to FIG. 2 , electronic commerce system 110 is shown infurther detail, according to an exemplary embodiment. System 110 may beimplemented using a standard computing system configuration. Forexample, the present invention may be implemented by a computerprocessor 202 based on instructions stored in a computer-readablenon-transient memory 204. The computer system 110 may be provided withconventional input devices 206, such as a keyboard, mouse, network inputdevice, etc. and output devices 208, such as a computer monitor ornetwork output device, to allow an operator of the system to interactwith the computer programs implemented on the computer 110 and stored inmemory 204.

Conventional memory 204 is provided as part of, or accessible by, thecomputer system 110. The memory 204, e.g., including disk memory, RAM,and/or ROM, etc., holds the various computer programs that are run onthe computer system 110 to implement an electronic commerce system andmethod in accordance with the present invention. Such software includesthe product information display and ordering system 112, the productdatasheet display and ordering system 114, and a data sheet modificationsystem 210 which, as will be described in more detail below, include agraphical user interface or other software for allowing a user to obtainand/or display information and perform an electronic transaction relatedto a product offered for sale or otherwise available through electroniccommerce system 110. Memory 204 preferably also contains otherconventional software programs necessary for general operation of thecomputer system 110. Based on the detailed functional description, flowchart diagrams, and exemplary screen displays provided herein, a personof ordinary skill in the art of software programming in the field ofelectronic commerce systems will be able to implement a system andmethod in accordance with the present invention without undueexperimentation.

Product information display and ordering system 112 may be a standardelectronic commerce product display ordering interface, as is well knownin the art, modified to include a link to a product datasheet configuredto include product ordering and inventory reporting functionality.Referring now to FIG. 3A, an exemplary product display and orderinginterface 300 is shown, according to an exemplary embodiment. Althoughinterface 300 may be configured to include a wide range of both type andamount of information, the exemplary interface 300 shown in FIG. 3Aincludes a manufacturer identification information 302, productidentification information 304, product feature information 306including basic property and uses information for the specified product,product inventory reporting and ordering functionality 308, and productdocumentation links 310. It should be understood that interface 300 maybe configured in a variety of different ways to achieve thefunctionality described herein. According to an exemplary embodiment,interface 300 may be provided by a manufacturer from a manufacturercomputer 120 and displayed on electronic commerce system 110. Theinterface 300 may be displayed by a standard Internet browserinterpreting HTML, JavaScript and/or other known programming languages.

However, as described in further detail below, product documentationlinks 310 may be modified by datasheet modification system 210 to linkto a datasheet configured to include inventory reporting and orderingfunctionality, such as shown and described below with reference to FIG.3B, as opposed to a product data sheet supplied by manufacturer computer120. Accordingly, product documentation links 310 may be configured toinclude a modified product datasheet link 312 configured to initiate thedisplay of a datasheet configured to include inventory reporting andordering functionality provided by product datasheet display in orderingsystem 114.

Referring now to FIG. 3B, a product information catalog 320 is shownthat includes manufacturer identification information 302, a productlisting 322, and product documentation links 310 for a plurality ofproducts. It should be understood that interface 300 may be configuredin a variety of different ways to achieve the functionality describedherein.

Referring now to FIGS. 4A and 4B, a first two pages of a modifiedproduct datasheet 400 including an inventory reporting function display402, shown in FIG. 4A, and an order function link 404, shown in FIG. 4B,is shown, according to an exemplary embodiment. Although only two pagesare shown, it should be understood that a product datasheet may includeany number of pages, each of which may be configured as describedherein. Product datasheet 400 may be a standard product datasheetincluding extensive detail information regarding the product shown ininterface 300 and/or catalog page 320. According to an exemplaryembodiment, product datasheet 400 is configured to be a superset ofinformation displayed in interface 300 regarding the product. Productdatasheet 400 is displayed to a user based on a selection of a modifiedproduct datasheet link 310 rendered on interface 300.

Product ordering function link 404 may be configured to initiate displayof an ordering interface (not shown) based upon selection of the link404 on product datasheet 400. The ordering interface that is displayedmay be the same ordering interface that would be displayed based uponselection of ordering functionality 308 on interface 300.Advantageously, selection of link 404 allows a consumer to purchase theproduct displayed on interface 300 directly from product datasheet 400without requiring navigation back to ordering interface 300. In oneembodiment, when link 404 is selected the ordering interface ispreloaded with product name and model number information from thedatasheet, so that the user simply fills in information unique to his orher order, such as quantity, color, etc.

Inventory reporting function display 402 and product ordering functionlink 404 may be cooperatively displayed to display inventories from amanufacturer computing system 120 or other suppliers to displayinventory levels that are available from the manufacturer and suppliers,and to associate a unique product ordering function link 322 with themanufacturer or one of the suppliers. Accordingly, a consumer may placean order with a particular manufacturer or a supplier directly from theproduct datasheet based on the determination that the manufacturer orselected supplier has sufficient inventory levels.

Product datasheet 400 may be further modified to include an additionalfunctionality display 405. As shown in FIG. 4A for an example, productdatasheet 400 may be modified to include a sample request link 406, awhite paper link 408, an application notes link 410, a reference designslink 412, a evaluation and design kits link 414, a CAD drawings link416, and a company history link 418. Additional links could include alink to product parameters, UL or code standards, etc. Datasheet 400further includes a video link 420 linking a video file displaying forexample, additional product views, component use in situ, a technicalexpert discussing the component, potential applications, etc. Alsocontemplated, although not shown in FIG. 4A, is technical chat interfaceconfigured to allow the consumer to exchange information between theconsumer and manufacturer computer 120 and/or other consumers in a chatforum specific to the product of interface 300.

Referring now to FIGS. 5A-5D, clicking on the Inventory reportingfunction display 402 of a modified product datasheet 400 of FIG. 4A canbe used to display an inventory reporting function display 500.Referring now to FIG. 5A, a single component inventory reporting display510 is shown displaying inventory and pricing information for the singlecomponent available through a plurality of distributers, according to anexemplary embodiment. Display 510 is configured to include anidentification of the component 512, a listing of distributers 514,inventory levels for each distributor 516, and ordering functionality518. Ordering functionality 518 may include both a buy now function forpurchases where price is fixed and a request for quotation for purchasesis dependent on order size or any other variable.

Referring now to FIG. 5B, a component family inventory reporting display520 is shown displaying inventory and pricing information for a familyof components available through a plurality of distributers, accordingto an exemplary embodiment. Display 520 is configured to include anidentification of the component 522, a listing of distributers 524,distributer specific component identification information 526, pricinginformation 528, inventory levels for each distributor 530, and orderingfunctionality 532. Ordering functionality 518 may again include both abuy now function for purchases where price is fixed and a request forquotation for purchases is dependent on order size or any othervariable. The listing may include a link to datasheet 400, shown inFIGS. 4A-4B.

Referring now to FIG. 5C, a single component inventory reporting display540 is shown displaying inventory and pricing information for the singlecomponent available through a plurality of distributers, according to anexemplary embodiment. Display 540 is configured to include anidentification of the component 542, a distributer identification 544,inventory levels 546, pricing information 548, and orderingfunctionality 550. Ordering functionality 518 may include both a buy nowfunction for purchases where price is fixed and a request for quotationfor purchases is dependent on order size or any other variable.

Referring now to FIG. 5D, a component family inventory reporting display560 is shown displaying inventory and pricing information for a familyof components available through a single distributer, according to anexemplary embodiment. Display 560 is configured to include anidentification of the components 562, inventory levels 564, and orderingfunctionality 566. The component listing may include a link 568 todatasheet 400, shown in FIGS. 4A-4B.

Inventory reporting function display 500 may alternatively beautomatically displayed in the product displayed in interface 300. Theinventory information that is displayed may be information availablefrom a manufacturer computing system 120, information locally availablethrough electronic commerce system 110, and/or information from aplurality of manufacturer computing systems 120 or other suppliers. Theinventory information may be generated based on a periodic check ofinventory levels and/or based upon a selection of modified productdatasheet link 400. Display 500 may be configured to spawn an inventoryinformation display as shown in FIGS. 5A-5B including additional detailsor may be configured to display inventory information directly onproduct datasheet 400 (not shown). Inventory reporting function display500 may be implemented using JavaScript or other programming languagesknown in the art.

Referring now to FIG. 6 , a flowchart 600 illustrating a method forreceiving and modifying a product data sheet to include ordering and/orinventory reporting functionality is shown, according to an exemplaryembodiment. The method of flowchart 600 may be implemented by thedatasheet modification system 210, shown in FIG. 2 . Although specificsteps are shown and described as being performed in a specific order, itshould be understood that the method of flowchart 600 may be limitedusing more, fewer, or and/or a different ordering of steps to implementthe functionality described herein.

In a step 602, electronic commerce system 110 receives a product datasheet. The product datasheet may be transmitted from by the manufacturerto system 100, or may be obtained by accessing a manufacturer websiteand downloading the product datasheet, may be scanned from a printedcopy of the product datasheet, etc. The received product datasheet istypically received in a PDF format, although system 110 may beconfigured to be able to perform the functionality described hereinindependent of the format of the product datasheet.

In a step 604, datasheet modification system 210 may be configured toanalyze the received product datasheet to obtain product identificationinformation. Alternatively, the product identification information maybe obtained directly from the manufacturer, attached to the productdatasheet in a macro file, etc. Datasheet modification system 210 may befurther configured to obtain additional information, such as productapplication information, usable to configure functionality keys to beassociated with the product datasheet.

In a step 606, the product datasheet is modified to include orderingand/or inventory reporting functionality. Data sheets are typicallycreated using InDesign, a desktop publishing software package availablefrom Adobe, Inc. The data sheets may then be provided as InDesigntemplates or converted to pdfs for use in system 110. The functionalitymay be added manually or automatically. For example, the links andinformation shown in FIGS. 4A-5D may be added based on detection ofspecific character sets in the received datasheets.

In a step 608, a product interface 300, shown and described above withreference to FIG. 3A, is modified to include a link to the generatedmodified product datasheet including ordering and/or inventory reportingfunctionality. Thereafter, a consumer selecting a product datasheet link312 on interface 300 will be provided with the functionality to obtaininventory information and/or order the product directly from the productdatasheet without requiring navigation back to interface 300.

Various alternatives are contemplated as being within the scope of thefollowing claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming thesubject matter regarded as the invention. It is also to be understoodthat, although the foregoing description and drawings describe andillustrate in detail one or more preferred embodiments of the presentinvention, to those skilled in the art to which the present inventionrelates, the present disclosure will suggest many modifications andconstructions, as well as widely differing embodiments and applicationswithout thereby departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

It is claimed:
 1. A method, comprising: obtaining a first version of adatasheet in portable document format; determining an identification ofa product in the first version of the datasheet in portable documentformat, the first version of the datasheet in portable document formathaving a first portion comprising first product information associatedwith the product; modifying the first version of the datasheet inportable document format to add a second portion in a modified versionof the datasheet in portable document format, wherein the second portioncomprises one or more links to a user interface for ordering theproduct, wherein the modifying the first version of the datasheet inportable document format comprises: detecting one or more characters inthe first version of the datasheet in portable document format; andbased on the detecting, adding, to the first version of the datasheet inportable document format, the one or more links to the user interfacefor ordering the product; obtaining, from a computer, an inquiryassociated with the product; and outputting, to the computer and basedon the inquiry, a list of products, the list comprising the product andsecond product information associated with the product, the secondproduct information comprising at least a name of the product, a priceof the product, a link for ordering the product, and a link to themodified version of the datasheet in portable document format;receiving, from the computer, a first selection of the link to themodified version of the datasheet in portable document format and, inresponse, sending, to the computer, the modified version of thedatasheet in portable document format to the computer; receiving, fromthe computer, a second selection of a first link of the one or morelinks in the modified version of the datasheet in portable documentformat; and based on receiving the second selection of the first link ofthe one or more links, causing display, by the computer, of the userinterface, wherein the user interface is preloaded with the product nameand model information in the modified version of the datasheet inportable document format.
 2. (canceled)
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein: modifying is performed automatically; the modified version ofthe datasheet in portable document format further comprises a chatinterface configured to send a message to a chat forum associated withthe product; the second portion further comprises a link configured tosend a request for a sample; the second portion further comprises a linkto a company history and a link to CAD drawings; or the second portioncomprises inventory data obtained by transmitting information from thefirst portion to a second computing device.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the user interface is configured to display inventoryinformation, associated with the product, from a plurality of suppliersof the product.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the modified versionof the datasheet in portable document format comprises a link configuredfor retrieving a page comprising an identification of the product, alist of distributors of the product, an indication of inventory levelsfor each distributor in the list of distributors, and orderingfunctionality.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the modified version ofthe datasheet in portable document format comprises a link configured toretrieve a page comprising an identification of the product, onedistributor of the product, an indication of inventory levels for theone distributor, and ordering functionality.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein the first product information comprises inventory informationindicating a quantity of inventory of the product, the operationsfurther comprising: based on the second selection of a first link of theone or more links to the user interface, generating the inventoryinformation.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the modifying isperformed automatically.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein thedetermining an identification of the product comprises determining,based on the first portion of the first version of the datasheet, theidentification of the product.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein thedetermining an identification of the product comprises obtaining, from acomputing device associated with a manufacturer of the product, theidentification of the product.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein thedetermining an identification of the product comprises obtaining, from afile associated with the datasheet, the identification of the product.12. The method of claim 1, wherein: the modified version of thedatasheet in portable document format further comprises a chat interfaceconfigured to send a message to a chat forum associated with theproduct; the second portion further comprises a link configured to senda request for a sample; the second portion further comprises a link to acompany history and a link to CAD drawings; and the second portioncomprises inventory data obtained by transmitting information from thefirst portion to a second computing device.
 13. The method of claim 1,wherein: the user interface comprises a web page; and the methodcomprises steps for receiving and automatically modifying productdatasheets to include product ordering or inventory reportingfunctionality.
 14. The method of claim 1, the method comprising: stepsfor receiving and automatically modifying the first version of theproduct datasheet in portable document format to include productordering or inventory reporting functionality.
 15. The method of claim1, comprising: steps for providing commercial functionality includinginventory reporting or ordering functionality on the modified version ofthe product datasheet in portable document format; and steps forproviding product information in two forms; and causing JavaScript toexecute to spawn an inventory information display.
 16. The method ofclaim 1, comprising: steps for displaying inventory information for aplurality of independent inventory systems.
 17. The method of claim 1,comprising: steps for implementing functionality accessible through themodified version of the product datasheet in portable document format.18. The method of claim 1, comprising: adding inventory reportingfunctionality to the modified version of the datasheet in portabledocument format.
 19. The method of claim 1, comprising: adding thesecond portion to the first version of the datasheet in portabledocument format, wherein the second portion has been added to thedatasheet in portable document format without modifying an appearance ofthe first portion.
 20. The method of claim 1, comprising: steps forreceiving and automatically modifying the first version of the productdatasheet in portable document format to include product ordering orinventory reporting functionality; steps for providing commercialfunctionality including inventory reporting or ordering functionality onthe modified version of the product datasheet in portable documentformat; and steps for providing product information in two forms; stepsfor displaying inventory information for a plurality of independentinventory systems; and steps for implementing functionality accessiblethrough the modified version of the product datasheet in portabledocument format.